Exploration for subterranean hydrocarbons requires a good understanding of subsurface siliciclastic rock formations. Merely identifying the structure of subsurface formations is insufficient to determine if the subsurface formation has the properties needed for an economical hydrocarbon reservoir. In particular, it is desirable to understand the spatial distribution of sediment properties and organization of barriers and baffles to hydrocarbon flow within a subsurface formation. These distributions will be dependent on the depositional processes that occurred when the sediments that now form the subsurface formation were originally laid down. Modeling these processes is extremely complex as they are influenced by both the hydrodynamics and the sediment transport as a coupled system.
There exists a need for improved modeling that will allow better understanding of the depositional history of the subsurface rock formation to improve identification of potential hydrocarbon reservoirs in such formations.